Why are teams a valuable point of focus when considering quality improvement in health care?
Teamwork is essential in all fields of work, including healthcare. Quality improvement cannot be looked at as an isolated objective without the involvement of the team that delivers the service. Groups provide a promise of improved healthcare since they can aggregate, combine, and apply a higher amount and variety of skills and knowledge in decision making, generate ideas, solve problems and perform tasks effectively and efficiently than a lone individual. As the healthcare industry is increasingly becoming complex in various specialized areas, the need for dynamic teams to deliver quality is also becoming a point of attention for healthcare providers. Besides, the increased evolution in the healthcare industry and demand for quality health care has shifted from the times when a dentist or a single specialized person was depended upon to deliver quality (AMA J Ethics: " Teamwork in Health Care: Maximizing Collective Intelligence via Inclusive Collaboration and Open Communication", 2016) . In modern times, a significant focus is on a teamwork approach that is patient-focused and one that can positively impact on client safety and outcomes. Research results indicate that working together minimizes the chance of errors and mistakes in healthcare and improves patient safety (Librarian, 2020) . There are reduced chances of personnel burn out as a result of a coordinated effort in delivering health care services.
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What distinguishes a team as high-performing within a health care environment? Identify five reasons why high-performing teams are necessary when assessing quality.
A high performing team is a unit of individuals sharing common goals, vision, and metrics. The group challenge each other and collaborate while holding each other responsible and accountable to deliver outstanding results (Librarian, 2020) . A sense of direction and unity of purpose are vital characteristics of a high performing team. The dynamic teams work in unison following a clearly defined mission with set priorities and a strong focus on results and solutions. A vital trait of a high-performance team is competence. It is formed of highly qualified individuals with vast experience and skills that are core to the delivery of quality healthcare. Communication is exceptional among the members who share ideas, solutions, and other essential information in a freeway. The aspect of individual and mutual accountability for the accomplishment of the set goals and objectives characterizes the task force. Each team member holds personal responsibility in delivering the goals and hold each other equally responsible with an expectation that they will all be held accountable as a group. Members of the high-performance team observe strict discipline as well as exhibit a great deal of control in discharging duties allocated.
High-performance teams are essential in the quality assessment for instilling a sense of commitment and purpose to the team members. Unlike average teams, high performing teams are able to create a long-lasting ambition leading to excellence. The team also leads with utmost accountability and understanding because the members' responsibilities and obligations are well understood. Quality lapse is eliminated because of the diverse range of expertise, thus complementing each team member's abilities. Different viewpoints, abilities, and talents are brought to the table, ensuring that resulting services and products are accorded enough attention at every stage, thus maintain the desired quality. Also, a high performing team provides confidence both internally and externally.
Discuss how team processes and the varying roles of individuals can impact quality assessment both positively and negatively. Consider elements such as leadership roles, individual responsibilities, delegation of tasks, decision making, ongoing training/education, etc.
Team leaders are a significant factor in the quality of healthcare as they guide every team member in ensuring each one of the themes plays their role. Leaders have the responsibility of ensuring each member has high morale through proper motivation to execute their duties properly. Also, a team leader creates an environment that encourages creativity through innovation. Creativity is achieved through flexibility in the instructions given, which helps the workers to find better and improved ways of discharging the duties. Besides, an effective leader promotes values of honesty and integrity, which are cord values in healthcare by being an example for the team members to follow ( Weaver et al., 2018) . Such a leader creates a productive healthcare team that is effective and efficient with quality services. Likewise, a leader can help who has no focus on what is essential and has ambiguous communication. A discrepancy in his behavior and values proclaimed leads a disjointed team that has no common purpose, with quality being the first casualty.
Each individual in a team has a role to play in delivering the group aims and objectives. The tasks allocated should be discharged following the overall mission of the group; thus, trust, commitment, and accountability are essential in safeguarding group outcomes and a positive impact on the quality of the result. Tasks in a team are delegated by the team leader, who is supposed to ensure tasks are allocated according to the skills, qualifications, and experience of team members. A haphazard and random delegation of duties has impacts on the quality of work done, which can compromise patient safety. However, the delegation of responsibilities done on the strengths and skills of each team member enables every on to concentrate on the roles they are best suited and work to the best of their ability, thus ensuring quality work and a positive outcome in quality assessment exercises. Continuous training and education are beneficial since it bridges the skills gap and builds staff capacity. Thus, the same number of team members can deliver additional output with improved quality that has a positive impact on quality assessment.
How does the cross-functionality of a high-performing team enhance its ability to meet the quality improvement goals of a health care organization? How might having an interdisciplinary team potentially create conflict? How could these tensions be mitigated to improve team effectiveness?
Cross-functional teams are multidisciplinary terms comprising of members from various health departments. Cross-functional teams provide an all-inclusive approach to problems and issues in healthcare that are aimed at improving the quality of healthcare. The units are valuable in designing and executing enhancements in work processes that enhance patient experience and quality of service delivered. Each member of a cross-functional high-performance team is an expert in his field and, as such as able to brainstorm and offer expert advice on each functional area aimed at enhancing quality. Improvements in each functional area, the whole healthcare facility improve patient experience and meet the organization's quality improvement objectives.
An interdisciplinary team draws personnel from various departments and backgrounds, and misunderstanding may arise from differences in approaches and lack of cooperation. Lack of collaboration is brought by members working at cross purposes. Lack of consensus may result in conflicts as various members try to impose their opinions on the team (Desivilva et al., 2018). Weak team selection on the part of the management may create conflicts due to incompatible member personalities. Since a member of a multidisciplinary is drawn from different disciplines, each member has varying perspectives and outlook on how the team should perform its mandate and conflicts are bound to happen.
Tensions in a high-performance team could be mitigated through increased communication members and creating avenues where members interact and work towards easing of tensions. Team selection should follow through a thorough vetting procedure as a pre-emptive step to avoiding conflicts. Empowering team leaders enhances their decision-making capabilities, including conflict resolution that ensures harmony and cohesiveness in the group is maintained. Establishing accountability earlier on sets what is acceptable or not as well as expectations on each group member from the onset, avoiding unnecessary conflict when responsibility is introduced midway in the tenure of the task force.
How do elements such as conflict and change affect the dynamics of the team and its ability to reach a unified goal?
Conflicts in a multidisciplinary team create chaos and disharmony that overcrowd the common goal of the group, significantly reducing its efficiency and effectiveness. Cooperation is a crucial ingredient to a capable team as different team members’ work together as one unit to accomplish set goals (Desivilva et al., 2018). Once the cooperation of some members is compromised, the team aspect is erased, and members pull efforts in different directions, making the achievement of common goal difficult. The presence of conflicts causes a change in perspectives and priorities of the team, delaying the achievement of deliverables.
Discuss the resources and types of support available that might enhance a team's efforts for continued quality improvement. Consider how components such as team culture, support, communication, and rewards may come into play.
A health care organization should always maintain a culture that ensures continuous quality improvement thrives through the abolition of independent workgroups and focusing on teamwork in all functional areas. Sustaining a culture of continuous quality improvement requires tackling resistance to change and work routines by maintaining focus on the real issues within the organization. The accomplishment of constant quality improvement involves the support of every team member because opinions and ideas on development are expected from every member. The management is also obliged to support viable quality improvement ideas floated by quality improvement teams. Communication is a vital component of a quality improvement plan. Disclosure of the goals and approaches is done through audio and visual elements, thereby inspiring and committing employees to change by displaying expected results. A reward is a way of recognizing team members' efforts toward quality improvement in healthcare. The efforts could inform of a revolutionary idea or approach that improves the quality of healthcare services offered by an organization.
References
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